Zero's Happiness
by xxmiss-nyxiexx
Summary: The war is over and a new Zero has emerged, at the same time a forgotten princess by the name of Lisbeth ru Britannia enrolls in Ashford Academy, Kallen knows something is up, and it doesn't take long for her to find out what. Suzaku/OFC Gino/Kallen
1. Chapter 1

At Ashford Academy things had always been interesting. The school housed terrorists, world dictators, knights of the round and countless other interesting people. Yet that didn't seem to be able to dim the flame of curiosity that spread through the school like fire whenever a new student showed up.

Or maybe it was _because_ the school had been occupied by such interesting people that the knowledge that some new, possibly even more interesting, person sparked excitement and curiosity which spread like wildfire, and the rumors which spread even faster than that.

So Kallen Kouzuki knew, the minute 18 year old Lisbeth ru Britannia introduced herself, that she was going to be another interesting person to add to the school's extensive history, and another interesting person to contribute to another interesting year. The entire classroom was shocked, even the teacher looked a little flustered, when the Third Imperial Princess of Britannia stood before them and introduced herself.

Kallen had heard stories of her, of course, though most of it was believed to be rumors spread by jealous Empresses. Her rank had initially been Fourth Imperial Princess but she moved up after the death of Euphimia, despite the fact that this was an unethical breach of tradition on Charles zi Britannia's part. There were rumors that her mother was Japanese, but most people simply regarded them as byproducts of the emperors other wives who were supposedly extremely jealous of the commoner born Kimmi ru Britannia. They had even gone as far as to claim that her real name was Kimiko but she had changed it to hide her true origin.

Lisbeth disappeared when she was seven years old, the emperor refused to believe that she was dead and wouldn't allow Carline le Britannia (the Fifth Imperial Princess) to steal Lisbeth's title, thus leaving the title of Fourth Imperial Princess open. She was rumored to be the only child the Emperor had ever loved and the one he planned to appoint ruler of Britannia after his death because he deemed Odysseus incompetent.

Kallen didn't believe this, the Britannian government would never allow a woman to rule, even by personal request of the emperor, something that irked her very much. They would probably arrange for her to be assassinated before she could sit on the throne, probably blame it on Japanese terrorists too.

When Lisbeth was five years old her mother had mysteriously been slaughtered, of course, many rumors had spread concerning Kimmi's death, one of them was that the Emperor had murdered her himself, but none of them could be proved, although Kallen suspected that no one had really tried to prove anything. Two years later Lisbeth had disappeared. It was common presumption that the two incidents were related but no one had tried proving that either.

But even after all of this Kallen had never imagined that Lisbeth ru Britannia would look anything like this.

She had waist lengtth, raven black hair which hung around her shoulders and face. She was rather tall for a girl, Kallen would give her five foot nine at least, and she had very long legs. She was thin, but curvy. Kallen could tell that she would have some trouble with the horndogs at Ashford. Her steel colored eyes made Kallen think of General Tohdoh but she didn't dwell on it, the fact that she had made the connection in the first place was absurd.

"Lizzie!" Gino surprised everyone by jumping up and yelling, grinning wildly.

Kallen jumped and gave Gino a look telling him to sit down, when he ignored her she observed Libeth's reaction. She looked completely horrified at first, along with something that Kallen couldn't quite place. But with the next blink of Kallen's eye her expression transformed completely, she smiled kindly and chuckled.

"You shouldn't be calling me that Gino" her voice was raspy and deep, like she had just come off a roller coaster or spent her entire life smoking.

"Why not? I _always _called you that" Gino titled his head to one side and gave her a questioningly look.

"Yes, when we were _kids_." she sighed.

"Everyone's a child at heart Liz"

"Yes, you of all people would believe that." the coldness in her tone contrasted the amused smile on her face.

"Mr. Weinberg please _sit down_. Ms. … Britannia there is an empty seat next to Ms. Statfeld-erm Kouzuki"

Lisbeth walked over to the table Kallen was seated at. She walked with a strong posture and an air of importance, though it seemed to Kallen that it was importance she would rather not be burdened with, and sat in the seat next to her with a grace only a warrior could posses.

Kallen saw a flash of silver out of the corner of her eye but when she tried to see what it was she got a cold look from Lisbeth, prompting her to stop. Kallen asserted that she was not someone to be trifled with and frankly, she didn't want to see what happened when anyone tried.

Once class was dismissed Lisbeth slung her bag over her shoulder and was out of the class so fast Kallen found herself thinking of Suzaku, the only person she had ever met who could run fast enough to dodge a bullet. Gino rushed out after her, not even bothering to pester Kallen with his declarations of love and wedding plans, which came as a relief to her, but it also left her feeling a little empty inside. Some part of her hoped that he had found a new girl to stalk but another part of her (a very very small part she would never admit to) hoped that he would be able to see that if he tried anything on Lisbeth she would probably break his nose.

In the hallways Gino was running faster than he ever had to keep up with Lisbeth, he hoped to god Kallen would never become this fast, how the _hell_ would he be able to corner her after class then? Gino huffed and pushed himself to run faster. If she didn't have such long hair he probably would have lost her ages ago.

When she finally stopped and turned around to face him through narrowed eyes he crashed into her, failing to stop in time to prevent the collision. They both toppled to the ground, Gino falling down on top of her, leaving her trapped under him in the middle of the school grounds.

She tried to push Gino off of her but was only successful in rolling him over due to the fact that Gino was made completely of muscle and she only had the use of one hand. They laid down next to each other, panting hard and trying to regain their breath.

"Why…were you…running after me?"

"Why were you running away from me?"

"You didn't answer my question, Gino"

"You didn't answer mine, _Lisbeth_."

Lisbeth sighed and rolled over to face him, propping herself up on her elbow. Gino did the same and they sat there and glared at each other for a good minute before Lisbeth spoke.

"For your information I needed to get to the bathroom but thanks to you I wasn't able to"

"You're lying"

"Am not"

"Are to. If you wanted to go to the bathroom you should have just stopped, told me so, and I would have told you that the bathrooms were the exact opposite way you were going"

"I was going to the dorms, idiot"

"You're so weird. It shouldn't matter _which _bathroom you go to. Unless you got your period or something" Lisbeth eyed him suspiciously before sniffing and saying in a calm, cold voice Gino knew that she usually reserved for her father or people of political importance.

"I don't have to justify myself to you"

"Then don't" Gino said, standing up and dusting himself off, and holding his hand out for her.

Lisbeth eyed the hand suspiciously for a while, like she was afraid it was plotting some trap against her before she took it a whole minute and a half after it had been extended to her and got to her feet, hastily letting go of it to brush herself off and run a hand through her hair which Gino had to admit looked like a very tiring task.

"Hey, I mean, I know you really don't want to be asked this but…where'd you go? Everyone thought you were…" he seemed incapable of finishing the sentence so he made a slicing motion across his throat and then shuddered.

As far as she could remember she and Gino had always been pretty close friends, Lisbeth was an only child, and technically speaking she didn't really consider her step-siblings her real siblings, and so it was nice to have a friend close by. Gino's father was an important member of the government thus, automatically, Gino was always around the palace and he and Lisbeth had immediately become friends. When she disappeared Gino had been heartbroken.

The way the mind of a child works is strange sometimes, and at that particular time it caused Gino to believe that she had run away due to the fight they had recently before her disappearance, Gino could not, for the life of him, remember what they had been fighting about but he knew it was something major because as he was leaving she didn't give him a hug or even return the "Goodbye" he said to her in a small tiny voice. It was a drastic change from the almost in tears hugs and pleadings for him to stay that he usually received.

None of the adults really seemed to notice this, not a single one, and that really had been the turning point for him. That was when he realized that as much as he wanted to believe that both his parents loved him and each other and that they were a perfectly normal and happy when the truth of the matter was that neither of his parents ever gave the time of day for him or each other. His father was always busy with work and his mother was busy with her 'gentlemen friends' as he had learned to call them.

The only person he had confided this to was Lisbeth and her response was to say that his family was simply and plainly dysfunctional and it was a byproduct of the pressure and strain that came and accumulated with having to worry about whether or not the use of a fish fork for the salad course is appropriate because you had dropped your other fork and you knew that there would be a fish course later on in the evening, which Lisbeth deemed completely stupid and a meaningless waste of her precious cache memory which she would rather fill up with more important matters, such as whether or not the _sakuradite _in Japan was enough reason to bully, and possibly start a war, with the aforementioned country.

Gino, as a child, was often tormented with headaches from Lisbeth.

If only he could remember what it was they had fought about, maybe she was still holding a grudge because of it, if that was the case if he could remember what it was he would try and set things right. But no matter how hard he tried to remember what it was they argued about the answer seemed to slip away farther and farther.

Lisbeth had remained expressionless throughout his timidly asked question, even after he had mentioned her death, nothing in her face revealed what she was thinking, let alone what she was planning to say/do. It was something about her that aggravated a lot of people, especially her enemies, her flawless ability to remain calm and expressionless even during a disaster. There was only one time where he had seen her lose control and he didn't want to think about that incident, it made him shudder all over just thinking about it, although he didn't remember too much because he was only five at the time but it was gruesome enough to leave an expression.

Ever since then Lisbeth had never once lost her cool, Gino sort of understood why she acted like this, there were people who hated her everywhere. He even overheard his own mother gossiping with the rest of the empresses about the death of Lady Kimmi and the fate of Lisbeth after this, something Gino tried not to think about. There was even a point where his mother had gone as far as to warn him not to get too 'chummy' with Lisbeth, Gino ignored his mother's warnings of course.

He knew Lisbeth, and Lisbeth was no terrorist.

Then again many aspects of Lisbeth reminded him of Lelouch, he didn't know him too well but he didn't think he'd become a world dictator and be assassinated by a figurehead he himself had created and once portrayed. He remember when they were kids, Lisbeth had always said that Lelouch was her favorite younger brother, Gino always assumed that it was because he was the closest to her in age, other than Euphimia, but Lisbeth had always found Euphimia's optimism annoying. She found optimism, in general, quite annoying. She believed in realism she said. It took a while for Gino to realize that she was way too mature for her age.

Gino had never met Lelouch as a child, Lady Marianne lived in a different area of the palace than Lady Kimmi but from what Lisbeth said he assumed he would like him, but of course the Lelouch Lisbeth knew was the one before he had witnessed the death of his mother and had been exiled, thus causing him to swear to himself that he would defeat Britannia.

He wondered where Lelouch was right now, he wondered whether he was angry at himself for not fulfilling his vow.

As Gino went over this information in his head and tried once more to remember why she could be angry at him Lisbeth was doing nothing but observing him, as if trying to decide whether or not to trust him. Then she got a look on her face that she got when she was calculating stuff and was thinking very hard, a look of deep concentration which involved her eyes becoming slightly glazed over and chewing on her lower lip.

"I don't…remember" she said finally with a slump of her shoulders and a tilt of her head towards the floor, as if she was ashamed.

But as far as Gino could remember Lisbeth was almost never embarrassed, never. It was almost inhumane.

"Really?" he asked and she nodded.

"Really. I don't' remember much of anything these days, some days I can't even remember where I am when I wake up. Other days I can even remember when I was one and Cornelia dropped me on the floor in the dining room" she sighed, nothing in her voice revealed that she was lying but Lisbeth was a very good liar, Gino had learned.

Gino regarded her with curious eyes, she was still looking at the floor, and playing with one of the buttons on her shirt. She was also still chewing on her lip, something she only did when she was worried about something. He decided, for the time being, to trust her, and if anything should come up to prove that she was lying he would question her about it.

So as response to this Gino pulled her into a tight embrace. Lisbeth stood, stiff as a board, shocked by this gesture. Gino could tell it had been a while since anyone had shown her any form of affection. Gradually, Lisbeth relaxed and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his neck, she was tall enough to be able to do that.

"Thank you Gino" she said into his uniform.

"For what?" genuine surprise laced his voice.

"I don't know" it took a while for her to answer.

Gino didn't say anything else, he didn't really want or need to. They hugged each other in the middle of the school until Lisbeth pulled away and looked Gino in the eye.

"Gino. If I don't get to a bathroom soon I'm going to pee in my…"she looked down "skirt" she gave him an apologetic smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

He grinned at her and picked her up, racing towards the girl dormitories. They both probably looked quite interesting, running through the school, Gino getting envious looks and thumbs up sings from the boys and Lisbeth receiving jealous, angered looks from the girls. Once he dropped her off she ran inside, disappearing with a flash of black hair.

"I'll wait here" Gino called after her.

"Uh-huh" she yelled back.

Gino sat down on a ground, closing his eyes and resting his head on the wall behind him. He sat like that for a while before he was disturbed by a shadow engulfing him, blocking the sun from his face. Gino opened a single eye and found Kallen glaring suspiciously at him.

"Yes Miss Ace? Can I help you?"

"You seem friendly with the new girl"

"I've known her since I was kid. But don't worry, my heart beats only for you" he grinned at her and watched her roll her eyes, he even detected a possible smile but that was impossible, this was Kallen Kouzuki after all.

"Hey listen, do you think it would be possible to have Lisbeth join student council? You know there's the rule about how you have to participate in at least one club? She doesn't really believe in any organized sports and I don't really think she'd fit in anywhere else."

_Doesn't believe in organized sports? Who the hell is this person?_ Kallen thought to herself as she heard Gino's blabbering.

"Well sure, but-"

"Great! Thanks so much Kallen!"

Kallen had been made President of the student council, she hadn't really meant for it to happen but with both Milly AND Lelouch gone, someone needed to take the role and Rivalz had graciously declined the offer, so the only one left to take the spot was Kallen, she made Rivalz the Vice President though, because he deserved that much at least.

"What are you doing here Gino?" Kallen added a sigh, even though she sort of already knew the answer.

"Waiting for Lisbeth. You should be the one to tell her about student council though, she'd probably get mad at me. She opposes any form of current government that isn't communism I think"

_What the hell?_ Kallen blinked just as Lisbeth came barreling out of the building.

"Wrong Gino. I oppose any form of government that isn't democracy and I am against both communism _and _fascism, I think both have their faults, though I regard fascism more disgusting than communism. In short, I'm an anarchist. Now, tell me what?" she eyed Gino suspiciously and then gave Kallen the same courtesy.

"One of the school rules is that every student has to participate in one school club and Gino here thought it would be a good idea for you to join student council" Kallen attempted to keep her cool, like Lelouch always did, despite the fact that she was encountering the most intimidating person she had ever come across.

Lately Kallen found herself trying to be more and more like Lelouch, she admired him so much it was surprising she hadn't tried to be more like him beforehand. She was probably one of the only people, apart from the current Zero and Nunnally (who Kallen suspected of knowing the truth), who knew the extent of what he had done for the world. Thanks to him the world was a better place and although the world could never be perfect, the leaders of the world were at least attempting to make it better.

Lisbeth regarded her from head to toe and then gave her a disapproving look.

"It is okay to set other people as your personal criterions; it is _not_ okay, however, to become a conformist as a result of it because that would make you a hypocrite. To set a criterion for yourself, especially when it's in the form of a person, does not mean you _turn into _that person. No, on the contrary, it means that you examine their faults and attempt to become _better than them_. Do you understand what I'm saying Kallen-chan?" she had rattled this all off in Japanese, though they were living in Japan, most of the students at Ashford Academy spoke English, regarding the Japanese language as one for the numbers, but now, after the war, people had started to learn the importance of one another's languages and the Britannians had began to grasp the idea of a Japanese language and culture.

What a Britannian Princess was doing speaking Japanese so well was beyond Kallen's line of imagination. And the fact that she had called her Kallen-_chan_ completely infuriated her. _Who does she think she is anyway? And why the fuck is she calling me a conformist?_

Gino blinked, he knew some rudimentary Japanese, although most people had converted to English after it had been declared as the international language used for negotiations and meetings. He didn't understand most of what Lisbeth had just said but he knew by the shocked and enraged look on Kallen's face that she wasn't complimenting her hair. He laughed nervously and tried his best to repair the situation.

"You say such weird things sometimes Liz. Anyway wuddya say?"

"About?" she had gone back to English now and turned her head to give Gino a blank look, completely ignoring a fuming Kallen behind her.

"Student council"

"Oh" Lisbeth gave Kallen a quick glance, a contemplative look on her face, and seemed to muse over the subject for a while before giving her answer. "I'd be honored to be a member of student council. But this is only because I've read the brochure and the rest of the clubs seem quite ludicrous, and plainly, stupid."

"Oh, please excuse my dereliction. It was not meant to offend" she gave Kallen a knowing look before returning to Gino. "I would like to make a small request on my behalf though, if it isn't too overbearing of course. I think it would be unjust for me to join the student council without the other member's approval, I'd hate for them to think of me as bumptious."

"And if they don't approve?" Kallen asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I shan't not thrust my unwanted presence upon them, if I do that I believe the rest of the year will be quite unpleasant for both parties you see, and I quite dislike unpleasant situations" she shrugged her shoulders as if it didn't matter much to her, and Kallen never really suspect much else.

Kallen thought about this for a minute, Lisbeth obviously looked like she had much to offer, and she could probably be a great Treasurer, in replace of Rivalz who really didn't do much in the first place. She recalled the math period where she hadn't seemed to be paying any attention to the teacher's lecture but answered every single question correctly without the need to use any paper for calculation, she seemed to be doing it all in her head which was amazing in itself.

The same situation happened in every other lesson, she would draw, read Edgar Allan Poe under the table, map out blueprints for some sort of machine and still answer every single question without ever looking up from what she was doing. Kallen considered asking her how she did it but then she remembered the look she had received when she first caught a glimpse of what she now knew to be a gun.

The way she presented herself and spoke created a problem for Kallen. She reminded her too much of Lelouch and in the end, questions would be unavoidable. Not to mention that she was still quite irritated with her because of her remark earlier, even if she _had _apologized in her own way.

In the end Kallen decided that she would present her at the next student council and take a vote, and if she was in she was in and if she was out than she was out. Although Kallen got the feeling that Lisbeth would only make trouble if any teachers attempted to force her to enroll into any other ludicrous clubs.

Plus Gino looked so happy about the return of his friend that she couldn't bear to dampen his spirits because that was just the kind of person Gino was.

She relayed the voting plan and Lisbeth nodded in approval, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Well you can guarantee my vote Lizzie!" Gino said enthusiastically and winked at Lisbeth, this seemed to make her go cross, though it wasn't for the reason Kallen expected it to be.

"Gino! That completely goes against the point!" she seemed horrified.

"Why?"

"You must set aside our past relationship and take this seriously for once" she scolded him "you cannot simply vote for me because I am your friend. You must have a _reason _to vote for me, Gino, or else this could be considered an awry election! I would even go as far as to say that the results could end up being baneful"

"Okay okay. Sheesh! I'll vote for you because you're such a nerd, sound better?" he gave her joking smile but she rolled her eyes and glared at him, before sighing.

"I suppose it's a start"


	2. Chapter 2

Lisbeth stood before the members of the student council, her back held stiff, her face revealing nothing but emptiness, although it was done in an extremely polite way. Kallen could tell she was trained for this kind of thing.

_What a tightass. _Kallen thought, inwardly snorting, though she didn't really blame her, it was the Britannian way of life and it couldn't be helped. But would it hurt for her to be a bit more like Euphemia? Kallen thought that she was a little too cheerful but Kallen would take cheerful over cold and cynical any day, especially after the year's past events.

"Why don't you sit down?" Rivalz asked eyeing her strangely.

"But that would be anti-productive" Lisbeth cocked her head to one side "If I sat down the whole point of this meeting would be completely gone. We are here to determine whether or not I should join you, if I sat down then I would be considered your equal, in this matter of course, and there would be no point of this vote"

"Jeez, Lizzie, loosen up will you? This isn't the UFN, it's just student council" Gino rolled his eyes and laid back in his chair, sighing.

"Gino." She gave him a cold look "Life is something to be taken seriously, even if it is _just student council_, besides, I find these matters a little fun, better than all the other shit I had to deal with"

"Better than fish forks and salad?" He smirked and she gave him a look so murderous Kallen's hand flew to the pocket knife concealed in her wallet.

What happened next surprised her so much that her eyes flew wide and her mouth fell open. Lisbeth threw her head back and laughed, actually _laughed_. Aside from the small chuckle on her first day, nothing even resembling a laugh had come out of her and Kallen never expected it to be anything like this. Her laugh was, in short, enchanting. It filled Kallen up with a happiness she hadn't felt since Lelouch.

"Yes, much better than fish forks and salads" she nodded and grinned at Gino playfully.

"See, that's the Lizzie I know and love. Please stay around" Gino pouted and batted his eyelashes and she rolled her eyes and went back to her polite blankness.

"Back to the matter at hand" Lisbeth said and Kallen heard Gino groan and mumble something beside her.

"Kallen, have you reached a verdict?"

"Uhm...we have"

"I'm anxiously waiting for the result"

"Erm...you can join the council. No one voted against you actually"

"You aren't supposed to tell me that, if you do it will increase the risk of arrogance in the future but thank you very much" she smiled kindly and Kallen smiled back.

"Then I guess it would be okay for me to sit down now?" she smiled warmly and sat down in the empty seat next to Gino. He clapped her on the back and gave her the thumbs up sign, she merely smiled and thanked him.

What Kallen liked about Lisbeth was that there was modesty around her, along with her burdened importance, which set her apart from the rest of the Britannians Kallen had ever knew. It wasn't the way she spoke, no she was quite like Lelouch in that area, overly cocky. And sometimes she was just so…_arrogantly cynical _that it made Kallen's blood boil. Those blemishes aside (Kallen was quite sure they were just for show anyway) Kallen couldn't help but…pity-yes, pity would be the right word for it-her. Despite everything she had been through Kallen wouldn't call herself unhappy, in fact she was the happiest now since she had been in a long time, and she owed it all to her family and friends. Lisbeth didn't seem to have either, aside from Gino of course.

Kallen pitied most of the royal family, they seemed so lonely all of the time, but Lisbeth especially seemed to cry out loneliness, misery, and pain. Kallen had no idea what to think of her, sometimes she would be so mad at her, and other times she would scold herself for not reaching out to the lonely girl.

Kallen couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the attention Gino was giving her, she knew that they were old friends and that they hadn't seen each other in a while but she was still a little envious, though she could tell that she was not alone. Many of the girls had already started to hate Lisbeth because of her close relationship with Gino Weinberg, although Kallen was somewhat relieved that their obsessive hatred wasn't directed towards her, as it had been ever since she had come back to school.

First with Lelouch and now with Gino, Kallen always managed to capture the hearts (if you could say that Lelouch had a heart that is) of the most wanted men on campus. Unfortunately this meant that she had a difficulty making friends, and not to mention the fact that she had been called a slut more times than she could count. The rest of the boys were, of course, envious of Lelouch and Gino (she was considered a bit of a catch herself) although boys seemed to show their hostility in a different manner.

Despite all of this, Kallen really missed Gino's attempts to seduce her and his frivolous announcements of love.

When the first Friday since Lisbeth's arrival came around Kallen was planning to go visit her mother for the weekend, most people left and visited their families during the weekends as well so naturally Kallen was wondering where Lisbeth was planning on going. When Kallen asked her she merely shrugged off the question, but she knew she was going _somewhere_ because she had seen her packing a bag the other day.

She wondered if she could be going to see Schneizel or Cornelia, they were, after all, her family. But somehow it seemed very unlikely. Whenever Kallen asked Gino about her family, he also would look extremely uncomfortable and change the subject. Didn't she have a mother or a sibling to go to? She knew that a lot of the 98th emperor's wives were still alive, although she knew that Lisbeth's mother had died, but she must have a brother or sister, rarely did an empress produce a single child, most of them had two children.

Maybe she was visiting Nunally, that would make sense, she acted as if she knew Lelouch whenever Kallen mentioned him, and she remembered Gino saying something about him being her favorite brother. Would she be allowed to visit her though? She had disappeared so suddenly that most people thought she was dead, they would probably think she was some imposter.

So when the day finally came around Kallen and Lisbeth found themselves walking alongside each other, they were both headed for the ghettos whereas the majority of the school was heading towards the wealthier parts of Tokyo.

Kallen glanced at Lisbeth out of the corner of her eye, she had a duffel slung over her shoulder and she walked with a hardened expression. She seemed to know where she was going, or at least had somewhere to go.

"Lisbeth?"

"…" she waited for Kallen to continue.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to stay at my house or something. I only live with my mother so I've got plenty of room."

"I don't need your pity." she replied so coldly that Kallen stopped walking in surprise, staring at the back of her head.

Kallen caught up with her and they resumed walking in silence, they went their separate ways soon, Lisbeth heading for some unknown destination and Kallen walking towards the residential area. This was another one of those times where Kallen found herself thinking about strangling her. Although Kallen herself probably would have given the same answer, had she been in her position.

It wasn't until she got home and flopped down on the bed that she realized Lisbeth was headed for the base of the Black Knights.

The next day, when Kallen was washing the dishes after breakfast, her mother walked in, looking slightly flustered, and announced that there was someone at the door for her. Thinking it was probably Gino, _again_, she rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance, drying her hands and preparing her lungs for a good work out.

She stopped when she saw who it was, her mouth splitting into a wide grin. She rushed towards him and threw her arms around him as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Ohgi!" she yelled, delighted, now understanding why her mother had seemed so flustered "What are you doing here?"

"Well I'm actually here to give you an invitation." Kallen stepped aside and let him pass, directing him over to the living room.

"How're Villetta and the baby?" Kallen asked as they sat across from each other.

"Oh they're good, Villetta says he looks more like me than her" _That's a relief. _Kallen thought. "But I can't really tell, you know how I am with that kind of stuff" Kallen grinned and nodded, struggling to laugh at the expression he had once held when an old lady asked him whether he had his grandfather's hands or not.

"So, when do we get to see him?" her mother asked as she bustled into the room and set a tray onto the table and began pouring the tea.

"Well, that's sort of why I'm here. Zero has organized a meeting with a select few, Kallen included, where he wants to introduce his personal Knight before the public announcement the day after tomorrow." _Personal Knight? _"Viletta will be attending the ceremony the day after tomorrow and after that we will have a small gathering where me and Viletta will introduce our new son" He was practically beaming by the time he took his first sip of tea.

"So Kallen needs to come tomorrow to the first meeting and then you, Ms. Kouzuki, can follow her the next day"

"Of course, of course." Her mother sounded distracted.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Kallen looked concerned.

"Oh nothing, I'm just trying to figure out what we should _wear_." Her mother smiled at her and Kallen sighed.

"I deeply apologize for not telling you sooner but-"

"Oh nonsense. You're the _Prime Minister_. You're obviously extremely busy" her mother batted her hands around before sipping her tea and losing herself in thought.

"Ohgi, do you know who his personal bodyguard is?" Kallen asked, feeling a sort of jealousy stirring inside of her.

When Lelouch had been Zero she had always been given special attention, she had always been _special_, but now she was just Kallen Kouzuki. Not Ace of the Black Knights, just Kallen Kouzuki. And this new tidbit of information hurt her deeply, she had always considered herself to be Zero's personal knight. Although he probably wanted someone who would be with him 24/7, something Kallen was incapable of doing due to her ambition to finish school. But hadn't Suzaku been Euphemia's knight, despite the fact that he was in school as well? It was all so frustrating, but she had to put her personal feelings aside and think about what was best for the Black Knights, and what was best for Zero.

"No. There's a rumor that's it's a woman though, but that's probably just Tamaki trying to be funny." When Kallen didn't say anything Ohgi continued "Yes well, I think I'd best be off now, I have some last minute stops to make" he set down his cup of tea and stood up, thanking them both for their hospitality and allowed himself to be escorted by Kallen out the door, her mother stayed behind to clean up.

"Look, I know you're a little upset about this, you and Zero were pretty close" he coughed and shifted uncomfortably, remembering just how close the two of them were "But you're in school now, and he obviously doesn't expect you to just drop everything in the middle of class and come rushing to his aid. This is an entirely new person we're dealing with, you have to understand that" Ohgi spoke in a hushed tone, not wanting to worry her mother obviously.

"I'm fine Ohgi, really, I can't wait to see who he's chosen" she said, her tone bitter, her face smiling.

Ohgi smiled and kissed her on the forehead softly, before waving and closing the door behind him. Kallen sighed and ran up to her room to pack, trying her absolute best to keep a clear head and not let her jealousy grab a hold of her.


	3. Chapter 3

Kallen sat in the meeting room, anxiously waiting for Zero to make an appearance and introduce his knight. She looked around her, taking in all of her surroundings, trying to distract herself from the mixed emotions of anxiety, and jealousy, brewing in her stomach.

The diversity of people invited to the meeting surprised Kallen, if this was so important he probably should have invited more people, not that the people in the room were lacking in status, but there were just so little of them. There was Ohgi, Tohdoh and Chiba all seated alongside each other. Nunally and Lady Kaguya were seated together as well, chattering away quietly while Sayoko, sitting next to Nunally, watched looking rather amused. What was left of the original Resistance members were there as well, along with Rakshata. Near the head of the table were Emperor Schneizel el Britannia and the commander-in-chief of the Britannian army, Cornelia li Britannia. Kallen ended up seated next to Cornelia, much to her discomfort, but no one else would take the seat, and then Tamaki pointed out that since both she and Cornelia were women and since Kallen was half Britannian it only made sense for Kallen to be the one to sit next to her, lest any other unsuspecting person fall victim to her wrath. Kallen told Tamaki that he was exaggerating, as usual, but agreed to do it anyway.

At the head of the table were two chairs, one for Zero and one which had initially been for C.C, although the chair had been removed ever since she had left. Kallen wondered whether C.C had come back, there was a rumor going around that a girl with long hair had been seen around the building, but if she had why would Zero call such a small yet important meeting? No, it was someone else, and the rumors were just a byproduct of Tamaki's jealousy of C.C, she was almost sure of it.

The door slid open with a hiss and Zero stepped in, his cloak drawn around him, everyone stood, including Schneizel, and waited for him to sit down. He signaled to someone standing just outside Kallen's view and sat in his chair, motioning for everyone to sit down.

"Many of you know why this meeting was called and those who don't will find out soon enough" he paused, waiting for a reaction, maybe.

"The resistance groups, or group rather, has been growing larger, and becoming stronger, by the day. I am worried that they will attempt something rash in the near future, try and stir up trouble. So, in order to prevent anything from happening I have decided to take action and show them that we are ready to fight for peace, and that we will not allow them to disturb the current order of things" _What does any of this have to do with his Knight? _"I once knew of a woman who had such extraordinary fighting skills that I thought she must be inhuman" Kallen noticed Tohdoh's eyes narrowing "That woman disappeared for a while and I was recently able to locate her and persuade her to join our forces" Tohdoh opened his mouth to say something but Zero held up a hand, silencing him. "Many of the people in this room have been acquainted with her at some point and all of you have probably heard of her. She may be considered as our personal FLEIJA Warhead, only much more controllable, but just as dangerous I assure you."

Zero stood up and everyone followed suit. Kallen noticed that Tohdoh had begun to look slightly uncomfortable and she wondered why. They heard a familiar hiss and everyone turned expectantly towards the door, a mix of anticipation and excitement apparent on their faces.

A young woman, with waist length, raven black hair and fierce eyes stood in the doorway. She wore a military uniform, similar to that of the former Knight of Zero. A large katana hung by each side of her waist and black steel toed boots were on her feet.

There stood Lisbeth ru Britannia.

"This, my good comrades, is Lisbeth ru Britannia. Henceforth, formally known as Knight of Zero"

Kallen felt her blood boil and rise to her face just watching her strut to Zero's side, anger flooding through her entire body. Zero sat down and everyone did the same, Lisbeth waited for everyone to be seated before sitting down herself. Kallen started to shake, her jaw clenching and unclenching, her face getting hotter and hotter by the minute. _If he wanted an 18 year-old girl he could've chosen ME. I'm the best we've got, how dare he choose someone else? After everything I've done for him he chooses some Britannian Princess over me? _Kallen had to stop herself from growling.

"LISBETH" Kaguya yelled, grabbing Nunally and pointing while jumping up and down in her seat. "Nunally Nunally it's Lisbeth! It's Lisbeth! Look!" _How the hell does Kaguya know her? _

"Lady Kaguya please calm down" Sayoko said, smiling at Lisbeth who, in turn, smiled back. _Sayoko knows her as well?_

"Impossible" whispered Cornelia beside her, her face horror-stricken "Did you know about this?" she asked Schneizel.

"No" he replied calmly.

"What's wrong?" Chiba was asking Tohdoh, looking extremely worried, and Kallen could see why.

Tohdoh's face had gone white and it looked as if he had stopped breathing, his eyes were wide and his lips were pressed so tightly together they were all but a white line, he looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Lisbeth. It can't be" he finally croaked his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. _Tohdoh too? What the hell?_

"He should've just chosen Kallen. At least she isn't a Britannian" Tamaki whispered loudly.

"No."Tohdoh said loudly. "Lisbeth is just as Japanese as Kallen is"

"How Japanese can a _Britannian Princess _be?"

"Whether she is Japanese or not does not matter, I thought that lesson had been taught and understood long ago. There is no place for racists here" Zero's tone was calm but his words shut Tamaki up immediately.

Lisbeth smiled appreciatively at Tohdoh, who nodded back, looking like he was on the verge of tears, the first time Kallen had ever seen him this emotional.

"Lisbeth is the best fighter I've ever seen!" Kaguya said, looking at Nunally, who nodded in confirmation.

"Thank you" she said, smiling and nodding at Kaguya and Nunally.

"Kallen" Zero said.

"Yes?"

"Please stand here" Zero stood up and gestured to the space in front of him.

Lisbeth stood behind him, a dark look washing over her face as she wrapped her hands around the handles of her swords.

"Kallen, I would like you to shoot me"

"I thought we agreed not to do this plan" Lisbeth's tone sounded dangerous but Zero ignored her.

"Excuse me?" Kallen said, looking dumbstruck.

"Please shoot me. Aim for my legs if it-" Kallen pulled out her gun and squeezed the trigger.

Lisbeth growled and jumped onto the table, drawing a katana and reaching out in front of Zero to deflect the bullet, Kallen shot again, Lisbeth jumped in front of Zero and deflected it once more. Kallen shot and shot and shot and Lisbeth blocked each and every one of her bullets. Kallen stopped when she had a single bullet left, breathing heavily, Lisbeth appeared calm but her eyes were alert and she stood in a protective stance in front of Zero.

When Kallen shot her last bullet she hadn't really expected anything other than Lisbeth blocking the bullet again, but instead she used the bullet to knock the gun out of Kallen's hand. She put her katana away and retrieved Kallen's gun, reloading it and handing it back to her.

"Thank you Lisbeth" Zero said calmly, returning to his seat.

"Stupid fucker" Lisbeth mumbled as she went back to her seat and glowered at the floor.

"Are you satisfied Tamaki?" Tamaki nodded, his face pale.

"As you have all just seen Lisbeth is quite capable, both in hand-to-hand combat and operating a Knightmare Frame. I think that she is just what we need to prove to those who oppose us that we will _not_, under any circumstances, allow the peace to be disturbed."

Kallen was still in shock by the time Zero had finished his speech and he and Lisbeth were getting up to leave. She was still trying to work out how in the hell she had managed to block all of the bullets using a _katana_, one of the most difficult swords to master. Another thing she tried to comprehend was what a Britannian was doing mastering a _Japanese _sword and affiliating herself with people like Kaguya Sumeragi.

She was really trying to shoot him too, take out all her frustration, but apparently Lisbeth was too good of a bodyguard to let that happen, Kallen almost growled again but instead she opted for scowling at the table, a more civilized manner of showing her frustration. Kallen really disliked Lisbeth at that point, but somehow she truly believed that she wasn't to blame. She didn't _ask_ to be given this inhumann power, she didn't _ask_ to be appointed Zero's Knight, and she had no way of knowing about Kallen so there was no reason she should refuse his offer.

Kallen just couldn't bring herself to hate her.

Something clicked inside of her, seeing them walk out like that together, and she decided to follow them, something she was sure she would be good at, although thinking back on the fight, Kallen had been so sure she could get past Lisbeth then too. Of course, if she was discovered she could just say that she had decided to go back to her room or the bathroom or something, depending of course on which way they were headed.

"Do you still think this meeting was a bad idea?"

"I think this entire affair is a bad idea, Zero" she sounded cross.

Kallen noticed that Lisbeth didn't speak to Zero like he was higher than her, they spoke together as if they were equal, there was no formality between them at all. _Stupid fucker_ Kallen remembered _I thought we decided not to go through with this plan_ she almost sounded like she was chiding him, like he was a child and she was his mother somehow. If Kallen could only figure out Lisbeth's past she would be able to tell for sure whether the current Zero was Suzaku once and for all. Kallen was standing behind a wall, they were apparently heading towards Zero's room and it became obvious to her that Lisbeth knew who Zero was.

"That's not-" he began to say but she cut him off.

"As for this _meeting_ I think it's utterly pointless, not to mention extremely stupid."

"I merely wanted to test people's reactions before the actual thing tomorrow"

"Yes, but Cornelia could go and blab to someone and we might get into a lot of trouble. Unless you're forgetting I _was_ meant to be Empress of that godforsaken country. This whole thing could cause an international incident, a Britannian Princess working under a former terrorist, and I know you say that the division between races has diminished greatly but I don't think too many Japanese people would be happy about that."

"Are you forgetting that you are half Japanese? And I already proposed a solution to that problem, besides, I believe Cornelia is a little smarter than that"

"Yes but I can't announce that publicly. It would cause an even bigger problem which I'm not ready to deal with right now. I've already endangered his life enough, Zero. Do you want me to kill my own brother for some selfish matter?" she sighed and Kallen held her breath. _What the hell is she talking about?_

"I highly doubt that Emperor Charles vi Britannia actually told anyone that he had a little boy locked away somewhere, using him to blackmail one of his wives and her daughter"

"My father may be a tyrant, but he isn't stupid. He must have ensured some way for this to go on, it was a lifelong contract, if I die it will fall upon my eldest child and when he or she dies it will fall upon their children. And so on and so forth"

"So the logical solution would be to not have any children?" Did he sound…_disappointed_?

"I could always adopt, though I can't see myself as a motherly figure" Zero chuckled.

"I can't either"

"I never really labeled you as the strategic type anyway" _He's freaking Zero for Christ's sake how can he not be the strategic type? _

"What do you mean?"

"You're the type of person who fights with your heart, and I admire that greatly about you, however you are quiet lacking in the department of logical reasoning. So I think that you have some other motive behind this meeting"

"Well, there's another reason why I approached you to be my Knight. Your fighting skills are beyond legendary and your brain power equals that of the greatest leader in history, not to mention you are an excellent cynic, even if you are a bit blunt at times"

"So, I am to be your advisor as well? I fear that people will consider me as a replacement for C.C and treat me as such…I see that you have adopted formal speech, something you never could get a grasp on as far as I could remember" from her tone Kallen could tell that she was smiling.

"It makes things much easier, I understand why you Royals use it now"

"So, what was the real reason behind this meeting?"

"In all honesty, I merely wanted to assure those close to you that you are alive and well."

"Tohdoh you mean?"

"Well, Tohdoh, Sayoko, Nunally, Kaguya. Cornelia seemed quite happy to see you as well"

"Yeah, sure" Lisbeth snorted.

"Weren't you close as children?"

"Not really, she spent too much time around Euphemia for my liking, plus she took up the role of guarding Marianne who lived in an entirely different section of the palace. I would be lying if I said that I didn't like her, though"

"Why do you dislike Euphemia so much?"

"I guess opposites didn't attract in our case. She was too…naïve, too optimistic. And despite the fact that I appreciate those qualities greatly in a person I just couldn't get along with someone like that"

"I think you label yourself as depressing too much"

"It's the truth, it's not as if I have any reason to be optimistic, my childhood wasn't exactly a walk in the park"

"There you go, being blunt again. Someday you are going to get into an extremely uncomfortable situation because of that mouth of yours."

"The regular definitions of uncomfortable situations don't really apply to me unless you haven't noticed. I don't tend to deal with certain situations as most people might"

"And you ask why I chose you from my Knight"

"Kallen didn't seem to be too happy about that" she sounded remorseful.

"She was close to Lelouch, and he favored her greatly, she was probably just surprised that she wasn't chosen"

"She's an excellent fighter"

"I'm not looking for someone to operate a Knightmare for me. I'm looking for someone who I can trust to thoroughly be able to protect me should we be put in a position where we don't have access to Knightmares or any other form of modern weaponry. You are the only person I know who would be able to protect someone from a Knightmare without needing to use one of your own."

"It's in my blood"

"You are too modest. If I didn't know any better I would have thought you were some future form of an advanced Knightmare, meant to look like an innocent human"

"_If you didn't know any better_? What's that supposed to mean?" she sounded amused.

"Don't be perverted"

"Gino's getting to me" she sighed and Zero laughed.

"In any case Rakshata sure as hell _treats_ me like a Knightmare"

"She finds you interesting, and she wants to build the perfect Knightmare for you"

"It won't only be for me, you'll be sitting in it as well"

"Exactly, I'll just be sitting in it; you'll be doing all the flying and fighting"

"And if we are put in a position where you need to operate?"

"I'm sure it won't be that difficult, I'll read the manual and take it for a few test runs before using it in battle if it it'll make you feel more comfortable"

"Very well, I still believe you think too highly of me"

"You think too little of yourself" he sounded amused now as well.

"…"

"Something wrong?" there was genuine worry in his voice.

"I just…I really don't see the odds of this turning out well. The government will probably demand that I return to Pendragon immediately and call this a conspiracy of some sorts. And when I refuse they will demand that I give up my status and my claim to the throne, but I can't do that, I promised Lelouch I would do my best to help you and I never ever break my promises. I just…I don't feel ready enough for this"

"You will be fine. I have complete faith in your capabilities" his voice was soothing yet firm.

After about two minutes of silence Kallen decided to look and see what was happening, just to make sure they hadn't died or something. What she found was Lisbeth in Zero's embrace, she had her arms wrapped around his waist and he was stroking her hair gently, she couldn't hear it from where she stood but she could detect the faint sound of deep voice murmuring something.

When Lisbeth pulled away Kallen could tell immediately that she hadn't been crying. She had an expression of a person who was crying but her eyes were completely dry. She resumed her previous stance, standing rigid and returned the hardened look on her face as if nothing had happened.

"I'm afraid I have a favor to ask of you" she said quietly and Kallen returned to her hiding place behind the wall hurriedly.

"Ask away"

"Well, considering my current condition I don't really feel safe sleeping in the dorms" _Current condition? What does she have split-personality disorder or something? _"And as a byproduct of that I've been suffering from lack of sleep, well more than I normally do anyway"

"I see. You can stay with me"

"Huh?"

"You can have C.C's old room" she muttered something in response which made him laugh.

"I wasn't planning on letting you sleep in the school anyway, much too risky, I may need you for something in the middle of the night and I don't want to have to send someone to fetch you from the school"

"What on earth could you possibly need from me in the middle of the night? You know…I'm starting to think that the rumors about C.C and Zero's relationship are true"

"There you go, being perverse again." Zero sighed and Lisbeth chuckled.

"As I said, Gino has been getting to me lately, it's quite hard not to be influenced by that boy" she sighed.

"Would you like me to send for someone to get your stuff?"

"I'll get them myself thank you"

"I know it isn't easy for you to rely-"

"I said _thank you_" Lisbeth snarled and Zero sighed.

"Of course, you're very welcome"

"You know, I'm afraid that I have to shamelessly take advantage of your bottomless kindness once more, Zero"

"You are free to take advantage of whatever you like"

"My second request is…" she trailed off and then took a deep breath "…Is for you to find happiness"

"Oh…well…er...I don't think that's possible, you see, I-" he sounded extremely uncomfortable.

"Please" she pleaded, sounding desperate.

"I'll…try" he sighed.

"Thank you"

Kallen followed them the rest of the way, still digesting all this information. A million and a half questions ran through her brain, but she couldn't find a single one that she would ever actually be able to ask. Throughout their conversation Kallen's suspicions about Zero's identity rose and fell until she was right back at square one.

When they reached the door to Zero's living area Lisbeth flung out an arm to stop Zero from resuming his pace. Kallen stood, frozen to the spot, afraid that she had been caught. She sighed in relief when Lisbeth lowered her arm and placed a hand on Zero's shoulder, her previously tense body had relaxed and Kallen could hear her take a deep breath.

"I trust that I have your confidence in everything we discussed and will discuss in the near future?" her voice was a little loud and it took Kallen a while to realize that the question was actually directed towards her, of course, it wasn't a question really, more of an order.

"Yes of course"

"Thank you"


	4. Chapter 4

Lisbeth stood beside Zero's seat, her stance was stiff, she barely moved an inch during Zero's entire speech. But her eyes were darting all over the place, studying people's expressions, stances, everything she could study she did. She had commited the blueprints of the room and those surrounding it to memory, along with the layout of the decorations. She had gone over a million scenarios and carefully planned out several actions she would take should any of those situations occur.

He sat next to her, her sensitive nose could smell his cologne and his deodorant, and if he hadn't been wearing the mask she probably would have been able to smell his toothpaste as well. There was a time in her life when she had convinced herself that she loved the man behind the mask, but he had changed now, so much that there barely was any trace left of the person she spent the better part of her childhood, and some of her teenhood, with. She wished she could help him go back to being that person but all hope for that had been lost when he agreed to the Zero Requiem. All she could do now was help him make the best of what remained of his life, and make sure that what remained of his life would be long and prosperous.

The guests were mingling now, drinking champagne and whispering amongst one another, so far nothing out of the ordinary had occured but she didn't rule out the idea from the near future. TV stations from all over the world were here as well, cameras had been pointed at where she stood only moments ago, now the cameras were switched off and the reporters were jotting down notes and tidbits of information in their notepads. She expected one of them to come up and ask for an interview in the near future.

"Lisbeth, please sit. There is no need for you to remain standing" Zero gestured to the chair beside him.

"If something were to occur-"

"Please. We've been here for an hour what on earth could possibly happen which hasn't already?"

"You never know"

"You're just being paranoid." Zero reached up to place the tips of his fingers on her cheek, his touch was gentle and caring, two things that most people would never associate with the former terrorist "Please"

His voice was smooth, the gentlenedd of his touch was nothing compared to the tone of his voice. Even though his face was hidden by a mask Lisbeth could easily picture the look on his face, it was one which he had given her many times before, it was one he used when he sought her out and requested that she become his personal bodyguard.

She closed her eyes and pictured his face, his chocolate brown tresses fluttering around him in the wind, his green eyes squinted against the sun. The rest of his face was placid though, and a small pleading smile graced his lips.

"Fine" Lisbeth sighed, picturing the tabloid headlines which were whirring through the reporters' brains now as they focused their cameras on the pair.

She made her way over to the chair which had been set up for her, and previously ignored, on Zero's left. She sat down, crossing her legs and pinching the bridge of her nose, her eyes closed as she breathed in and out deeply.

"Headache?" Always so caring, always thoughtful.

"No, but I expect one soon" Lisbeth gestured her head, very slightly, towards a reporter and a cameraman making their way over to them.

"Would you like me to tell her to go away? I have the power to do that" there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Of course you do, you're Zero for fuck's sake" Lisbeth mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"You say that like it's a bad thing"

"In some cases it would be, don't you agree?" She allowed sarcasm to seep into her whisper.

"Hello, my name is Nami Mizaki and I'm with the Japanese National Programming, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions if you don't mind" the fair-haired reporter had a huge smile plastered across her face.

"Hello Mizaki-san. Lisbeth?" Zero turned to Lisbeth, she could tell he was an arching an eyebrow at her.

Lisbeth eyed both the reporter from head to toe, neither of them seemed to be carrying any weapons and neither of them looked like they could even fire a handgun.

"Go ahead" she murmured, adding a negligent wave of her hand.

"Thank you very much." The reporter signalled the cameraman and he turned the camera on, balancing it on his shoulder and pointing it in their direction.

Lisbeth did not smile.

"I think the question which is plaguing all of our minds is: Where have you been for the past 11 years? You just disappeared off the face of the earth, now you're back and everyone's wondering where you had disappeared to"

"I thought these questions were for Zero?" Lisbeth gave them both a cynical look.

"Yes well-"

"I was presumed dead, actually. As for where I went, I really don't see how that's relevant to where I am today"

"True. But like you said, people thought you were dead. Don't you think they deserve to at least know where you had gone to?"

"An occurrence in my life made me realize that I wasn't, and still aren't, cut out for royalty. What reason did I have then to remain there?"

"The occurrence you're talking about is the death of your mother?"

"Perhaps. It was definitely around that time which I made the discovery of course."

"But you were so young. Only five years old"

"Can age truly be considered a factor in anything? If an 18 year old boy could become a world dictator in only a few of years I'm sure a five year old girl can choose whether or not she wishes to become a princess, do you agree?" Lisbeth raised a questioning, looking amused.

"Yeah." she laughed. "It must have been difficult though, to just pick up and leave though? Leave your entire world behind"

"It wasn't as difficult as you make it sound to be. It took a while to adjust but in the end I think I made the right decision" she could feel Zero's intense gaze on her, even though his face was hidden behind his mask.

She was being rather truthful, she wanted to make sure that the Britannians knew she wasn't going to come crawling back, expecting to reclaim her title as Princess. She was asserting her indipendance and she was telling them that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She had, after all, managed to stay alive for all this time.

"And now you're back to do what? Protect Zero? Why?"

"I made a promise to someone which I intend to keep. I feel strongly about what he's trying to do and I suppose this is my way of contributing to society. However, if he had not come to find me I probably would not have searched for him." Lisbeth glanced at Zero before cocking her head at the reporter.

"Really? Zero, how did you learn of Lisbeth? And why did you choose her, I'm sure there are dozens of other soldiers who would be much more capable?"

"Do you say that because she is a woman? Or because she is young?" he sounded offended on behalf of Lisbeth who probably hadn't even noticed that the comment was referring to her age or her sex.

"A little bit of both I suppose" she laughed nervously, picking up on her mistake.

"I would like to tell everyone who is listening that Lisbeth is the most capable-" a loud crash cut Zero off.

Lisbeth stood her hand automatically closing around Zero's wrist, her eyes had narrowed into leery slits as she eyed the ceiling, waiting for the debris to clear so she could assess the situation at hand. The hazy outline of a Knightmare frame appeared among the dust which was all the reason Lisbeth needed to pull Zero out of his chair and stand in front of him and drawing both of her katanas in an offensive stance.

"Stay behind me" she commanded.

"Of course" he sounded calm, he obviously had a very high level of confidence in her and was not worried at all.

Lisbeth could hear Nami Mizaki telling the camerman to keep the camera on her, she apparently brought another cameraperson with her which she told via walkie talkie to keep shooting the Knightmare. The Knightmare approached the place where Lisbeth and Zero stood, it fired a bullet which Lisbeth deflected, and another and another. Lisbeth deflected one bullet after the other, she tugged on Zero's wrist and the pair of them ran out of a backdoor entrance which they had initially used to enter the room.

Minutes later another Knightmare Frame came crashing through the wall behind the throne, there was nothing notable about it's size but it was a unique model, it was painted in the colors of Lisbeth's uniform and it looked like it could comfortably seat two people.

Kallen stood outside the infirmary, waiting for Zero and Lisbetht to emerge from inside. Lisbeth had insisted that she make sure Zero hadn't been hurt in any way. The attack was hardly an actual risk, dealt with in ten minutes, maybe even less than that. Only a couple of kids who had heard their fathers talking and managed to get a hold of a couple of Knightmares. Lisbeth had seemed positively furious once she caught sight of the attackers. She had them arrested on the spot, handcuffing them herself, very roughly, and stuffed them into the back of seperate police cars. Kallen was supposed to wait for them and follow up on the incident.

Lisbeth emerged, shutting the door behind her quietly. She stood outside the door, arms folder over her chest, looking extremely hostile and agressive. She raised an eyebrow at Kallen, giving her an expectant look. _Bitch_ Kallen couldn't help but think, a growl building up inside of her. Kallen relayed everything they knew, and Lisbeth didn't even bother hiding her boredom as she listened. She did seem to be waiting for something though, probably a specific bit of information. By the end of Kallen's report Lisbeth didn't seem to have heard what she was waiting for.

"Do we have anything on how they managed to obtain the Knightmares?" Lisbeth asked, frustration lining her voice.

"No, not yet. But we aren't done interogating them." Kallen glanced at the door behind Lisbeth "Is he okay?"

"Yes," Lisbeth answered coldly, glaring at the door, her lips curled back in a sneer.

Kallen glanced at Lisbeth, it was the first time she'd been able to get a good look at the raven haired girl since that meeting with where she had been introduced as Zero's Knight. She looked exhausted, there were dark, heavy circles under her eyes and her steely gray eyes looked dull and faded. Besides that, of course, Lisbeth looked the same as always. Same stiff, alert, posture, same expressionless disposition on her face.

Lisbeth gave Kallen another quick, curious one over before spinning around and striding back into the infirmary. Kallen stood and glared at the place where her head had been for a while, before turning around and leaving herself.

Lisbeth stood beside Zero's bed, watching him as he pulled his uniform back on. She was glaring at him, her eyes narrowed into slits and her jaw clenching and unclenching.

"Lisbeth," he sighed, exhasperated.

"What?" she seethed through clenched teeth.

He reached forward and cupped her face in his gloved hands, bending down to press a soft kiss to her forhead. His green eyes bore into hers and she could see the pleading in them, the desperation. She knew what he wanted.

"Zero-" she began, but he cut her off by pressing a long finger to her lips.

"The mask is off," he said quietly.

"But-"

"No buts," he interrupted again, "Please."

Lisbeth could understand why he didn't want her to call him Zero, especially when he took his mask off, but someone could overhear, someone could walk in, it was too risky. She'd attempted to explain this to him before, but he insisted on being called by his name. She sighed.

"Very well, _Suzaku_," she made sure to emphasize his name especially.

"Yes?" he raised an eyebrow, looking rather amused. "Are you going to say that you forgive me?"

"No, I was going to say how I _don't_ actually."

"Well, I can't have that now, can I?" he smiled and put the mask back on.

Lisbeth glared at the back of his helmeted head as he pushed the door open and head out. She followed him, close on his tail, however the sullen expression remained on her face as they made their way back to the hall for Zero to address the issue. The journalists and their camerapeople were all huddled together, making sure they got all the footage, working on their stories for whatever newspaper, magazine, or news station they worked for. They all surged forward at the sight of them and Lisbeth sighed, knowing that it would be a very long day.


End file.
